Steam-cooker.



No, 764,720. PATENTBD JULY 12, 1904.

R.H.GRAY.

STEAM cooKBR.

APPLIUATION FILED JUNE 30. 1903` N0 MODEL.

willi',

m jm m s' wiigrzsses 1 I :I @c on. by @f 9 UNITED STATES Patented July12,v 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

SYTEAM-COOKER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 764,720, dated July 12,1904.

Application filed June 30, 1903.

To @LZ wiz/07% it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT H. GRAY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Lexington, in the county of Fayette and State of Kentucky,have invented a new and'useful Steam-Cooker, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to apparatus em'- ployed for cooking by steam orhot water and for rapidly heating water for various purposes, and hasfor its object to simplify and improve devices of this character whichmay be employed for cooking various forms of food, making tea or coffee,or heating water for any desired purpose; and the invention consists incertain novel features of construetion, as hereinafter shown anddescribed, and specified in the claims following.

In the drawings illustrative of the invention, in which correspondingparts are denoted by like designating characters, Figure 1 is asectional elevation of the apparatus complete. Fig. 2'is a longitudinalsectional elevation of the coffee-making portion, and Fig'. 3 is asimilar view of the steam cooking portion of the apparatus detached.

The improved apparatus comprises a generator (indicated as a whole at10) having a tubular coil 11 below it, with the ends extending throughthe bottom of the generator, one end terminating at 12 below thewater-line and the other end terminating at 13 above the. water-line, asshown, the water-line being' indicated at 14. The generator portion willbe provided with a water-gage 30 of the usual construction. Any approvedheating medium may be employed to heat the coil; but generallyahydrocarbon-burner 15 of any approved form supplied through a conduit16 from a tank 17 will be used in the usual manner. By this simplearrangement it will be obvious that heat applied to the coil 11 willcause the water to rise and iiow from the pipe 13, and its place will besupplied by the cooler water flowing in through the pipe 12, thuscreating and maintaining a rapid circulation of the water in thegenerator and very rapidly heating it.

Above the generator 10 and spaced therefrom is a reservoir 18, connectedto the gen- Serial No. 163,781. (No model.)

erator by three pipes 19 20 21. The pipes 19 2O are provided,respectively, with shut-ofi' valves 22 23 between the generator and thereservoir, and the pipe 19 will be extended downward within thegenerator to a point near its bottom, as at 29, and below the waterline14, and the intake end of the pipe 20 will terminate at 43 above thewater-line, as shown. The pipes 19 and 20 are connected within thechamber 18 by a horizontal branch 44, and leading into this branch, asby a suitable coupling 45, is a feed-pipe 46, the discharge end 47 ofthe latter extending for some distance into the branch 44, as shown. Thereservoir 18 is intended to hold the water for replenishing thegenerator 10 and will be supplied through an aperture covered by ascrew-cap 48, as shown. The reservoir18 being' located above thegenerator, the water therein will be partially heated by the radiationtherefrom, as will be obvious.

By the arrangement of piping and valves shown the steam generated in theshell 10 may be admitted into the branch 44 through the valve 23 and itsforce utilized to drive the water entering by the feed-pipe 46 throughthe branch 44 and pipe 19, the valve 22 having of course first beenopened. By this means an injector-like action results and insures thepositive feeding' of the water-into the generator and at the same timeimparts a large additional degree of heat thereto, so that thetemperature of the water in the generator is not materially affected bythe introduction of the fresh supply. By properly adjusting the valves22 23acontinuous uniform' supply may be maintained to replace thequantity withdrawn.

The pipe 21 terminates in asafety-valve 50 to prevent unduesteam-pressure being generated, and a steam-gage (represented at 51) mayalso be attached, if required.

Extending' laterally through the generatorcasing are two pipes 24 25 andprovided, rc-

spe'ctively, with controlling-valves 26 27, as 95 shown. The pipe 25 isturned upward within the generator and terminates at 28 near its topabove the water-line, so that steam will vpass through this pipe whenthe valve 27 is opened, and the pipe 24 is turned down- IOO wardlywithin the generator and terminates at 29 near the bottom and beneaththe waterline, so that hot water will be caused to flow from the pipe 24by the pressure of the steam when the valve 26 is opened. The outer endof the pipe 25 is connected by a detachable steam-tight joint 3l of anyapproved construction toa casing 32, preferably cylindrical and providedwith one or more internal gratings or screens 33 to support the food tobe cooked and with a draw-off valve 34 to remove the water ofcondensation when re quired. The casing 32 will be provided with ahandle 35 to assist in supporting it while being attached and detached.By this simple means any article of food may be easily and quicklyplaced in the casing 32 and subjected to the action of the steam for anylength of time.

rIhe outer end of the pipe 24 terminates in a comparatively elongated,preferably tapered, section 36, suitably perforated and provided with aunion7 or other detachable steam and water tight joint 37, by which itis detachably connected to a coffee-receptacle 38, the latter providedwith a discharge-valve 39 and a supporting-handle 40, as shown. fithinthe casing 33 is suspended a coffee-holding screen 4l, of any suitablescreen material. By this means if the coffee be placed in the receptacle4l and the casing connected to the pipe 24, as shown, and the valve 26opened the casing will be quickly charged with hot water from thehottest portion of the mass in the generator-that is to say, nearest thesource of heat lgand the coffee very quickly extracted, and when it hasbeen subjected to the action of the hot water for a suiiicient length oftime the valve 26 will be closed and the completed decoction drawn oftr1by the valve 39. Then the receptacle al can be recharged with the groundcoffee and the process repeated, and so on, as often as required. If hotwater only is required, it may be drawn from the pipe 24 byfirstdetaching the coli'eegenerator.

The generator-casing l0 will be provided with .a suitable base-support42 of any approved form and the apparatus inclosed in an ornamentalcasing of plated metal, if preferred.

The apparatus can be of any desired size or capacity and of anysouitable material and employed for any desired purpose, and I do not,therefore, desire to be limited to the use thereof for any specificpurpose, but reserve the right to its use for any purpose to which itmay be adapted.

While I have illustrated and described the invention in practicableshape, I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the preciseconstruction shown, but reserve the right to such modifications andchanges as may fall within the scope of the claims.

The members 32 and 38 may be interchanged upon their respectivepipe-sections if it is desired to employ hot water instead of steam inthe cooker.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim ism l. In anapparatus of the character described, a cooking-chamber, asteam-generator communicating with said cooking-chamber, asupply-reservoir contiguous to said generator, and means for supplyingwater from the reservoir to the generator, said means comprising a pipemember Within the reservoir and having one end extending into thegenerator where it terminates below the water-line and having the otherend extending into the generator where it terminates above thewater-line, stop-valves spaced apart and arranged in said pipe member,and afeed-pipe communicating with said pipe member between saidstop-valves.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, acooking-chamber,asteam-generator connected with said cooking-chamber, a water-reservoir,and means for supplying water from said reservoir to the generator, saidmeans comprising a pipe member within said reservoir having a relativelylong portion extending into the generator and terminating below thewater-line and a relatively short portion extending into said generatorand terminating above the water-line, stop-valves in said extendingportions of the pipe member, and a feed-pipe extending into said pipemember in advance of the Valve in the shorter extending pipe portion.

3. In an apparatus of the character described, a cooking-chamber, asteam-generator connected with said cooking-chamber, a waterreservoircontiguous to said generator, and means for supplying water from saidreservoir to said generator, said means comprising a pipe member withinsaid reservoir having `its ends within said generator and disposed oneabove and one below the water-level, stopvalves in said pipe member, anda feed-pipe arranged in said reservoir and extending into said pipemember between said stop-valves.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aiixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT H. GRAY.

Witnesses:

- M. DON FORMAN,-

WVILLIAM VALLACE.

IOO

IIO

